The Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a ₦10bn fundamental rights suit filed by Nollywood actor Emeka Ike against Lere Olayinka, Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Justice Salim Ibrahim dismissed the case on Wednesday after upholding preliminary objections raised by the respondents challenging the competence and proper constitution of the suit. The court also dismissed the substantive claims, citing a lack of proof.
Ike had accused Olayinka of violating his right to privacy by publishing his voter registration details on his X account in May. The actor alleged that the post exposed his personal information, including details of the transfer of his voter registration from Imo State to the Federal Capital Territory.
Through his lawyer, L.T. Adeh, Ike filed the suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1272/2026, seeking ₦10bn in general and aggravated damages from the respondents.
The actor had sought to contest the AMAC/Bwari Federal Constituency seat in the House of Representatives in the 2027 general elections under the Nigerian Democratic Congress but lost the party’s primary election.
In his court application, Ike asked the judge to declare that publishing his voter registration details without his consent constituted a violation of his fundamental rights to privacy and personal data protection.
He relied on Section 37 of the 1999 Constitution, Article 12 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and Sections 24 and 39 of the Nigeria Data Protection Act, 2023, to support his arguments.
Ike also sought a declaration that INEC had a statutory duty to protect the personal information of registered voters from unauthorised access.
Additionally, he argued that the commission’s June 2 statement responding to the circulation of his voter information on social media amounted to an admission of guilt and liability.
The actor asked the court to order Olayinka to delete the disputed post from his X account, @OlayinkaLere, and issue a written apology over the alleged infringement of his rights.
However, both INEC and Olayinka opposed the suit, maintaining that the publication did not violate Ike’s fundamental rights.
In its counter-affidavit, INEC argued that the information in question was neither classified nor confidential and that the law permitted the commission to make certain voter information available to the public.
The commission’s response was filed through Anthonia Makwe, an assistant director and data protection officer in its Legal Drafting and Clearance Department.
INEC maintained that it possessed constitutional and statutory authority to make voter information publicly available without obtaining individual consent, in line with its responsibilities under the Constitution, the Electoral Act, 2026, and the Nigeria Data Protection Act, 2023.
The electoral body also denied that the information allegedly published by Olayinka had originated from its database, insisting that it had not breached its obligations to protect voters’ information stored on its secured platforms.
Olayinka, in his defence, similarly denied any wrongdoing, arguing that the material he published contained only Ike’s name and passport photograph, which he claimed were already publicly accessible.
The FCT minister’s aide maintained that he did not obtain the information unlawfully and was not bound by any duty of confidentiality requiring Ike’s consent before publishing it.
He further argued that Ike’s status as a public figure and his expressed intention to contest an election undermined his claim that the publication had caused him trauma.
Olayinka also alleged that the publication followed an incident in which Ike led a group of hoodlums to INEC’s office to disrupt its activities after declaring his political ambition.
According to the aide, his intention was to draw attention to Ike’s recent transfer of voter registration and remind the public of the applicable electoral provisions.
He cited Section 19(1) of the Electoral Act, 2026, arguing that INEC was required to publish the voters’ register within the period prescribed by law ahead of a general election.
Olayinka also relied on INEC’s June 2 statement, which said there had been no external breach of its Continuous Voter Registration database, hacking incident or unauthorised access to its information technology infrastructure.
He further contended that he was not a data controller under the Nigeria Data Protection Act, 2023, and therefore had no statutory responsibility to protect Ike’s information in the manner alleged.
Rejecting the actor’s demand for damages, Olayinka described the ₦10bn claim as being made in bad faith and urged the court to dismiss the case in the interest of justice.
The court ultimately dismissed the suit after upholding the respondents’ preliminary objections and finding insufficient proof to sustain the substantive claims.
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